Rebirth
by rogue-scholar07
Summary: We all know how events unfold in Tulsa up until the closing of "Untamed", but what about Chicago, Stark's home town? Can a group of misfits band together to stop a not-so-slight werewolf infestation and the renegade priestess controlling them?
1. Chicago Nights

**Okay, I don't own the House of Night or Chicago. I do, however, own my OCs, who kinda run the story. Don't worry, though. The Tulsa group will make an appearance in later chapters.**

**Rebirth**

**Chapter 1: Chicago Nights**

I'll be the first to admit that coming from a family of vampyres has its perks. More than likely, you'll be good at the arts. You will also develop a talent for sports.

Unfortunately, you keep hours that seem totally ungodly if or until you get Marked.

Before I got Marked three years ago, I thought my family's sleeping habits were insane. I mean, you stay up all night and sleep all day. It's a strange concept for a kid to manage. That all changed when the Tracker came to our house and Marked me.

Suddenly, I was elated. I would get to go to the House of Night, where my mom and dad met. The one in Chicago, Illinois. Sure, the one in Tulsa opened a year or so back, but they all felt that it would be better for my family if I had a chance to go far away from our home in Texas.

It's not that I hate my family. Dad works as a painter and mom's a novelist, which means that they're a little free-spirited and way cool most of the time. And our entire family tree is littered with vamps, which means that the transition would be easier with them nearby… supposedly. The only relative I have in Chicago is great uncle Remus. He's the one who suggested I move to Chicago. Said it had programs better suited to my interests, and he was right. I love it here. Especially with my Goddess-given affinity.

"Look, it's the snow-girl." Carrigan, the head of our Dark Daughters, sneered at me as I walked by. She's a year older than me, and is always on my case. She never really goes for the jugular anymore, though. Not since I turned her room into a winter wonderland in the middle of August.

"Gee, how original. You think that one up yourself?" I taunt her. Glaring, she flips her long chocolate locks over her shoulder and puffs up her chest.

"There's still no way you'll ever live through your final year." She said. "You were marked too early. A mistake."

I locked my burning green eyes onto her blue ones. "The Goddess never makes mistakes." I said. "Only her subjects do."

She walked away without a word. All the better for me. More time without her breathing down my neck.

She shared my parents' initial opinion of my being Marked so early. Since I hit puberty at age ten, I became Marked at 13—an early age for a fledgling. Since being so young put me at a great health disadvantage, and disadvantaged students usually die, my parents thought they'd never see me again when I left for school. Thus far, the Goddess has blessed me and turned my weakness to strength.

"Hey, Amy! Hurry up or we'll be late for History!" my new best friend Shannon yells out. She's a grade below me, but she's still way cool.

I am thrilled to have four of the best buddies a girl could ask for. There's Shannon Lake, a curly-headed glasses-wearing fifth former brunette from Virginia Beach; Isis, a dark skinned Middle-Eastern descended beauty in her fourth former year; Angel Whitman, a first year who recently dyed her hair pink and brought her two siblings along with her to the house of night so they wouldn't be thrown into a foster home; and finally Amiko "Miko" Honada, a Japanese American from California who always has her hair (which changes colors daily) in pigtails and is a fifth former.

As for me, I'm Amy MacKiernan from Burleson, Texas. Yes, I'm part Irish. Yes, I have red hair and green eyes. No, I am not part Leprechaun, even though green is my favorite color.

Anyway, Shannon's in my history class with Professor March because she's wicked smart at it. The girl's also a great dancer. I wish I could dance, but I don't. I ride horses instead. And tend to my dog.

That's right. Dog.

It's unusual for a vampyre to be chosen by an animal other than a cat, but it's happened to two of us here in Chicago: Myself, and our archer James Stark. He has his big blond bear-like Labrador Duchess, and I have a black and white furred, blue eyed Siberian Husky named Diego. Fortunately, neither dog has a problem with the cats… unless the cat starts something.

I'm now running to make it to history on time, and catch up with Shannon. I shouldn't have stopped to talk to Carrigan. She makes me miss class in addition to pissing me off.

We made it in just as the alarm sounded for class to start.

"I almost had to write you as tardies." Professor March said as we took our seats.

"Sorry." I said with an apologetic smile. "I guess time flies when you're chatting with friends" or fighting with bitches. Whatever definition you like.

Professor March didn't miss a beat, going straight into the day's lesson. "Today we will be discussing a bit of a hot topic, but I expect you to pay attention. Many centuries ago, a deposed priestess, angered over her lost position, sought to avenge her loss by attacking the family of the new priestess and the council members who voted her out of power. To do this, she put a curse on the animals roaming in the forests of the British Isles and Continental Europe. Once bitten by these animals, the victims would undergo a startling change into an animal-like creature. That is, if the victim were human. No vampyres attacked by these cursed beasts ever survived."

"Is this where the werewolf myth originated?" A geeky guy named Bernard asked. Prof. March nodded.

"Precisely. And as all of you can imagine, the new priestess and her council declared war on the rogue woman, whose Mark had always been amethyst instead of the typical sapphire seen in those chosen by Nyx."

Many gasps filled the air as Shannon and I looked at each other. Isis and Angel both bore purple crescent outlines. Have since they first enrolled at the House of Night.

"Is that why some fledglings have purple marks?" Vyxn, a creepy Goth girl who hates vowels, asked. Professor March sighed.

"No. An amethyst mark indicates that a vampyre adult or fledgling possesses an incredible talent for casting spells and charms. It does not make them evil, but it was because of these odd marks that many an innocent fledgling were slaughtered in the old days. It was a dark age for our people, but it is behind us now."

Not quite. She's obviously never seen how the other fledglings glare and speak to Isis and Angel.

"Was the priestess killed for her acts?" Zeus, leader of the Dark Sons, asked.

"Yes, but unfortunately the creatures escaped and reproduced. After many centuries, they were caught and slaughtered, but there is fear that some still live on the European mainland."

"But they'd be in hiding if they were, right?" Vyxn asked. "And it's not like they can come over here."

"You don't know that." I countered. "Professor March, what kind of transformation did those poor humans undergo and when?"

"Unfortunately, accurate reports are hard to find." Prof. March sighed. "Stories were exaggerated, and the myth of the werewolf was born. The one authenticated account comes from a Son of Erebus who fought against the deposed priestess Hecate."

"With a name like that no wonder she went evil." Shannon stated. I giggled in spite of myself.

"Indeed." Professor March smiled. "This Son of Erebus stated in an account to the new High Priestess that the infected humans became animal-like. Growing fur, fangs, and claws. Most were so lost to their animalistic urges that they were no longer human."

"How sad." Shannon moaned. "But why is it a hot topic?"

"Because no one knows if we ever truly irradiated them all." I said. "But don't worry. I doubt they'd attack the school. Not when it's in the middle of a large city like Chicago."

* * *

At lunch, we met up with Isis, Angel, and Miko. Along with Miko's boyfriend Matt and his friend Brett. They're both totally cute. Matt's this tall brunette with hazel eyes and this cute little goatee and beard. Then there's Brett, an ex-track star with sandy blond hair and cats-eye-green eyes. They're the only two guys who sit at our table. Well, if you don't count Angel's little brother.

"Are all the adults as nice as Mr. Sebastian?" Ange's brother Cooper asked. Sebastian March, Professor March's husband and our archery coach, had somehow gotten roped into looking after Angel's two siblings. Cooper, age 7, and Isabel, age 3, came with Angel per her request. The three of them were left orphaned and homeless when they're mother overdosed on antidepressants and hung herself. When Angel got Marked, she refused to leave her brother and sister behind; luckily, priestess Eliante allowed the two munchkins to move in.

"I'm sure they will be to you." Miko smiled. "You're too hard to stay mad at."

Cooper grinned like a bandit. "Don't get a swelled head." His sister chided. "Mr. March is a tough teacher."

"And at the end of the day, you're still living with your sister." Brett said.

"Just until I get marked." Cooper said. "Then I'll get my own room!"

None of us had the heart to tell him that he may not get marked at all.

Lunch went on normally, save the baby-corn-throwing mess Isabel made when she decided she didn't want to eat baby food. After that, we all finished our classes and met back up at dinner. Or, we were supposed to. I lost track of time in Equestrian Studies and Diego and I were in a mad dash to reach the cafeteria—I mean, "dining hall".

Suddenly, D-go stopped and started growling at something on the other side of the large Birch tree next to the west wall. I stopped and wondered why he was acting so strange when I noticed two yellow eyes glowing at me. I also heard growling that wasn't coming from Diego.

Uh oh.

"North wind, blow hard and true." I pleaded. The cold wind obeyed, and blew hard and strong at the offending shadow behind the tree and the bush next to it. Something yelped, then ran away. Diego kept growling.

"I think it's gone, boy." I said, kneeling down to pet him. He calmed down and licked my face. "Come on, let's get to the dining hall before things get scarier."

If only I knew how scary things would become.


	2. Something Strange

**No one has brought it up yet, but I felt I should mention it anyway. I have nothing but love for cats everywhere. I have three at my home now, and just lost one to liver disease over the weekend. I wrote Amy with a dog because I didn't think Stark should be the only fledgling with a dog. Besides, the dog thing will make more sense with the plot as the story unfolds. **

**Rebirth**

**Chapter 2: Something Strange**

By the time I reached the dining hall, I'd begun to calm down. I even talked myself into thinking that I must have imagined the encounter. Still, this nagging feeling of foreboding latched onto me and refused to let go.

Everything continued as it usually did. Well, aside from one of the little first years dying. Poor kid. We held a memorial for the kid, but still had to go to our classes like we do every day (well, night). I caught up with Isis the day after, and we began to talk about it.

Isis and I got on great, even though she's not my roommate (she's actually rooming with some girl named Celia). My roommate died my first year here and no-one's been assigned her place yet.

"Such a shame about that Donna girl." Isis stated. "She seemed like such a healthy girl."

"I never met her." I said. "But it's good that Eliante holds memorials for all the fledglings after they've died. I don't think many other Houses do that."

"One more thing to like about our High Priestess." She shrugged. "I have heard strange reports from the Tulsa House."

I shuddered. Another reason for my not being in Tulsa was Neferet: the High Priestess there. I can't put my finger on it, but there was something about her (my parents and I spoke to her about joining the Tulsa campus before I decided to come here) that I just couldn't trust. Still, news of odd happenings perked my ears.

"What kinds of things?"

"A fledgling with adult Marks and bloodlust impulses, fledglings losing their affinities, and the friends of the adult-Marked fledgling dying." She replied.

"Whoa, back up." I said. "What's this about lost affinities? Nyx usually doesn't just take affinities."

"I know. And the girl swears up and down that she's still seeing visions."

"Maybe Neferet just told the girl that the visions were false because it was something she didn't want getting out?" I mused. "Besides, you know that woman's totally obsessed with declaring an all-our war—something that Shekinah and the other Priestesses around the globe are mostly against. It's possible that the vision-girl saw Neferet declaring open war and using Dark Magik."

"True." She said. "But why would the new Dark Daughters' leader's friends be dying?" Isis asked. "And from the sound of it, a vampyre's been doing the killing."

"I don't know, Ice." I said. "It sounds like a cover-up to me. But then again, what do I know? I'm just the freaky dog-girl who can turn the hallway into a winter snow globe in about a minute." The bell rang in the background.

Crap. Late for psychology again, I see.

* * *

It was a ritual night that night. And since Shannon and I are terminally late for everything, we were running straight to the temple from the bathroom. We thought it would go easily enough.

Boy were we wrong.

"I think something's out there." Shannon said, scooting in closer to me. I sighed.

"it's probably nothing." I said, trying to ignore the tingling sensation on the back of my neck.

"No, I think we're being watched." She said, now right next to me. And inside my space bubble.

"You're imagining things." I told her. Suddenly, a low growl met my ears, and I froze. Looking to my right, I saw two yellow eyes staring at us from the darkness.

"Am I imagining that?" she asked.

"No, Shanda, I don't think you are." I said. The owner of the eyes made another growl, and then sprang out at us. Shannon froze like a deer in truck headlights. I didn't have time to freeze. Or think, for that matter. I just acted out the first thing in my mind.

"Freezing Rain, I call on you!" I shouted as the wind whipped violently around us and the moisture in the air turned to little ice crystals. The crystals then shot at the attacker like dozens of tiny daggers, sending it with great force into a tree. After hitting the tree, it slumped over on the ground, obviously knocked out.

By now, someone had heard what was up. Shannon screamed like a banshee when it lurched at us.

"Girls, what is going on?" Eliante asked as she strode out of the temple. Eliante is gorgeous, like all adult vamps. She's average height with brown hair, brown eyes, and a golden brown complexion. Her tattoos look like vapor wisps and shooting stars, which ties into her affinity for precognition very well.

Eliante is usually the cool, collected type, but when she saw what attacked us she stepped back.

"It cannot be!"

I looked where she had gazed and gasped. What we thought to be an animal wasn't quite, but it wasn't human either. It was dog-like with shaggy gray fur, pointed ears, claws, and a muzzle. It still had a human's body, though, which confused me.

What the hell was this thing? I felt like I knew what it was, but I didn't know from where.

"It's a werewolf!" One girl shrieked. Aw crap. That's why it looked so familiar.

I guess they did make it to America. And more importantly, inside the school grounds.

"Take the students inside." Eliante ordered. "We must purify the grounds and rid them of these creatures."

Shannon and I did as we were told, and wondered just what this development meant for our lives.

* * *

If you're going to come to the Chicago campus, you need to know three things. 1, you are chosen and Marked by Nyx for the Change. 2, Some Fledglings (about 5% of all vampyre fledglings marked) have purple tattoos and special "alternations" to their affinity. This is some unusual but connected form of a normal affinity. 3, and this is a big one, discrimination by any student against those few with amethyst marks will be dealt with swiftly and effectively by the high priestess. Any who don't know the last two rules and break them will learn not to in a day's time.

I thought of Eliante's laws because of the new instructor who's taking over for Professor Caldwell. New guy's a young Adult from the London campus, but none of us know because we're not allowed to attend staff meetings. Why is Professor Caldwell looking for a replacement? His opera-performing daughter and her architect husband just had their first child, making him a grandfather. Which means instead of teaching us to Fence, he'll be spoiling the next generation of vampyres. What a lovely thought.

Last night's ceremony was Caldwell's last, and the new professor arrived after all of us Fledglings had gone to bed, so none of us had met him yet.

But I was about to.

I took my place on the bleachers—away from Carrigan and her entourage. After a minute or two, the gymnasium doors opened and the students (me included) gasped.

He was young and very handsome. Longish espresso-colored hair danced around his positively stunning storm-cloud-gray eyes and contrasted his flawless creamy skin. But what attracted everyone's attention was his tattoo. It was an unbelievable array of knots and swords that masked his face—all in the same bright amethyst that outlined Isis's and Angel's crescents.

"Merry meet." He smiled, his British accent adding a cultured sound to his deep voice. "I am Jephthah, your new Fencing instructor. Please do not address me as Professor Jephthah; it makes me feel old."

I laughed. I was going to like this guy.

"Now all of you I'm sure have heard the old story of the purple-marked priestess and the werewolves." He said. "Rest assured, I do not dabble in magic. My affinity is for weapons and physical strength, not incantations and spells. Furthermore, I will implore you all not to judge all of those who have marks like mine as 'evil'. We are not bad; just specially gifted by the Goddess. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Sir." We chorused. He smiled.

"Good. Now, who's up first today?"

I'll say this for Jephthah, he made class interesting. The man looked dangerous to start with, but put a foil in his hands and he's absolutely fatal. I discovered this when Zeus stepped up to battle against him. Let's just say that Carrigan's favorite boy-toy nearly got sliced in half. I was mesmerized and couldn't stop staring at those piercing eyes of his. And he caught on.

"Amy, isn't it?" He asked me as class finished up. I nodded, feeling mortified and embarrassed.

"I'm so sorry for staring." I apologized. "I didn't mean it as disrespect or anything. I've just never seen an adult male vampyre with amethyst tattoos before."

"What can I say? I'm unique." He smiled. Oh, what a smile. "Actually, I wanted to commend you."

"for what?" I blinked. What did I do that was worth his attention?

"For fighting of the werewolf last night." He said. "That took some quick thinking."

"It wasn't anything special." I said. "I'm always good under pressure."

"Nonetheless, it was impressive." He stated. "A great character trait for a future High Priestess."

I froze. Priestess? Me? "I'm not the next priestess. Carrigan is."

"Just because she controls the Dark Daughters doesn't mean she's Nyx's chosen." He told me. "I think you are the one the Goddess really desires to run this school."

"Well, unless something truly tragic happens or I change before she does, it's not happening anytime soon."

"Very well." He smiled, placing his right fist over his heart. I started a bit. Usually, adult vampyres only greeted other vampyres or respected older humans with this sign of honor. It's never used on a Fledgling. "Blessed be, Amy." He smiled. I mimicked his motions.

"Blessed be." I relied, bowing slightly, and walking away. And as I walked, I mulled over what he'd said to the class about purple marks.

He was right, of course. Amethyst marks don't make evil vampyres—just very powerful ones. Isis and Angel are no exceptions. Isis is a phenomenal empath; she can even convert the emotional energy ("waves" she calls them) into physical energy that she uses to find people and sometimes zap them when they misbehave. Angel, on the other hand, is telekinetic and telepathic. I mean, we always knew she could read minds, but one day last week she totally freaked out over something and every non-anchored object in the classroom flew around her. That scared us all, and we petitioned our Priestess to help her. Of course, Eliante couldn't turn us down. Thanks to her, Angel's a lot better.

But what did this mean for our mysterious new teacher? He mentioned a weapons affinity, but what exactly was a weapons affinity? And what was his alternation? The effect his affinity reached to that wasn't the norm. It made me extremely curious. So curious that I nearly forgot all about our little verbal exchange. And while I thought, I ran smack into Miko.

"Sorry!" I blurted. "I guess I was thinking to hard about our new teacher." She smiled.

"So, is he hot?" Leave it to Miko to search out the best gossip sources. I nodded.

"Like a volcano." I sighed. "And get this: he has purple tattoos. Just like Ice and Angel, only his is a full-fledged mask with criss-crossing swords and shield-shaped knots." She gasped.

"No way!" I nodded.

"Way. And he's a kick-ass fighter, so watch your back."

"Thanks." She said. "I gotta get to class. See ya at lunch!"

"You too!" I called after her, thoughts of priestess-ship now at the back corners of my mind.

**If any of you need an analogy for Isis's "waves", think Hanajima from the Anime "Fruits Basket" (and if you don't read the manga, go look the character up on a fansite. You'll find the info there.).**

**Please leave a review.**


	3. Bitten

**Rebirth**

**3. Bitten**

Two weeks passed with no more news, which put me on edge. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to happen: something big. So far, though, nothing had. Angel and Isis continued working with Eliante about controlling their affinity alternations. I continued to be late for class and worry Cornelius—my mentor and our psychology instructor—half to death with my utter lack of co-ordination (I trip over stuff. A lot.). In the end, I started to dismiss my gut feeling.

It was a few days before Christmas break, and we were allowed to run out and play in the snow that night. The five of us girls, plus boyfriends and siblings, built a fort and got into a major snowball fight.

That's one thing I like about Chicago winters: it always snows. We rarely ever saw snow at my home in Texas, and the first year I arrived here I was totally awestruck by the sheer amount of the white stuff. That was when I discovered my affinity for controlling ice and snow, and it has served me well in many a snowball war. Like today.

Yeah, I hate the cold, but I love the snow. Go figure. Good things happen to me when it snows. I was born on one of the rare iced-over January nights in Texas. It was snowing (just a little) the day the Tracker Marked me. Snow days are good days then, right?

But not tonight. Tonight, my life is altered forever. But I don't remember exactly when or how it happened.

I recall racing to the dining hall with Miko and Shannon. We were late cause we'd totally drenched our other clothes and Miko took forever redoing her pigtails. I remember Diego lunging at something in the dark on that half-moon night. There were three animal-like things—a wolf, a cat, and something resembling a bear—that attacked us. The cat-like creature screamed, attracting the attention of the rest of the school. Miko and I tried to use our affinities to fight off those monsters, but with no such luck. My ice knives weren't working tonight.

We were losing, and one of them had already knocked Diego down. So, I did the completely irrational thing and lunged at the one closest to me. I scratched at its eyes. Hard. But somehow it managed to bite me back. The other two were-things were mauling Shannon and Miko while I tried to fight off my opponent. We traded blows for what seemed like an eternity before I watched an arrow sail into the chest of the beast, missing me by mere inches. I turned my head and sighed with relief. Eliante, Sebastian March, and a whole horde of adult vampyres arrived on the scene in time to save me from doom.

But what about the others?

"Get them to the Infirmary immediately." Eliante ordered. Miko and Shannon were carried off, but not me. I could still walk. Still, I had to lean on my Mentor's shoulder for support. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as we made our way to Althea's office. When we got there, she took one look at me and told me to wait on a bed while she tended to Shannon and Miko.

How ironic. Shannon, gifted with an affinity for Healing, needs to be healed.

It took a while for Althea to get the two of them stabilized, and by then my bite-mark was halfway healed. Still, Althea gave me a tetanus shot and another shot full of penicillin to ward off infection. She told me I was free to go, but I didn't want to leave. Not while Shannon and Miko were still in limbo. Reluctantly, she let me sleep in the Infirmary that night.

And what a night it was. Sleep came easily enough. I'd exhausted myself in the fight. But my dreams…they were weird.

Usually, I don't dream. Or if I do, I never remember what I dreamed of unless I write it down right after I wake up. But tonight, everything seems so realistic. The snow in the pine trees all around me. The white puffs falling gracefully from the sky and dancing on the air before resting on some tree in the large forest I now found myself in. Everything was white and green. A winter wonderland.

And then I heard her voice.

"Amy MacKiernan. I have waited for you, my child." I turn to find the source of that wonderful, grandmotherly voice and find myself face to face with a beautiful raven haired woman with dark eyes. Next to the woman stood a snow-white dog. Wait. Not a dog: a wolf. A wolf with piercing ice-blue eyes. I blink.

"How do you know my name?" I ask. "Who are you?"

"My child, do you not know the face that has chosen you?" The woman smiles softly. The lightbulb in my brain suddenly lit up.

"Nyx." I breathe. She nods.

"Yes, Amy. I am she that chose you for night. And now, I call you to be a new kind of creature. My daughter of the Night and of the full harvest moon."

"I don't understand."

"You will. You and your friends are very special fledglings to me."

"My friends? Oh my gosh, Miko and Shannon! Are they…"

"Do not fear, my daughter, they will come to no harm yet. They are seeing a vision similar to the one you are now seeing."

Well, that's great. Whenever we all wake up, we can compare and contrast hallucinations.

"Why have you come to us? We're just outcasts. What has our small circle done to win such favor from you?"

"You and your circle stand for those unable to defend themselves and protect the innocent from peril. For that, you have earned my blessing."

I froze. All those years of fighting off Carrigan was actually earning me points with Nyx?

"Although I must inform you that turning that girl Carrigan's room into a snow globe was a bit of overkill."

I stare at my feet, my cheeks burning. "What do you want of us?"

"You are chosen to undertake a change unlike any seen by your kind before. It will be a rough road, but do not fear, for I will be with you and your small circle."

"What about those creatures?" I ask. "And why have you sent Jephthah to us? Does this have to do with Neferet's deceit?"

"All will be answered in time." She speaks. "As for Jephthah, you must trust him. He is sent to you to aid in your coming battle."

Whoa. Back up a sec. What battle?

"Battle? But I totally suck at Fencing! How am I going to fight a battle?"

"Have faith, my daughter." Nyx replies. "Now, come here and kneel beside the wolf."

How can I refuse the Goddess's orders? I walk up to the wolf and squat down next to it. The thing looks me straight in the eyes. Those piercing eyes…

"Nice wolf." I said. I held my hand out for the white beast to sniff, and it licked my knuckles. "Hey, that tickles."

"Lay your hand on her shoulder." Nyx, now standing before me, commands. I obey of course. I'm a good little girl. She lay one hand on me, and the other on the wolf. "Daughter, you are a new breed of vampyre. My own special child. One part woman, the other part wolf. Trust your intuition and test all by my will. Blessed be."

The Goddess kissed my forehead, then (to my surprise) kissed the wolf as well. I'd barely muttered a "Blessed be" in response when I was awakened by the voice of my high priestess.

"Amy." She said as my eyes fluttered open. She and Althea stood above me, their eyes wide with shock and worry.

What have I done now?

**Why are the teachers so shocked? What does Nyx's vision mean for Amy and her 'circle'? You'll have to wait and see.**


	4. Sunrise, sunset

**Before I start this chapter, I feel the need to introduce the main staff of the Chicago HoN (at least, my version). Their names, subject taught, and mark patterns will be listed. Pronunciation keys will be provided for tricky names. We will start with the High Priestess.**

**Eliante (El-ee-ahn-tay)—High Priestess and Drama professor. Has a precognition (seeing things before they happen) affinity, and her mark is an intricate array of shooting stars and vapor wisps.**

**Sebastian March—Archery Coach, married to the History professor. His mark is intertwining geometric triangles and diamonds.**

**Katherine March—History professor and wife of Sebastian March. Affinity of a photographic memory, and a tattoo of swirls and knots with Hellenistic (or Greek) letters interspersed.**

**Cornelius (Core-nee-lee-us)—Psychology professor and Amy's Mentor. Unknown affinity, but his mark is a mask of leaves and twigs.**

**Althea (Al-thee-uh)—School Nurse. Healing affinity with a mark of strung-together rings that resembles a string of beads. **

**Jephthah (Jeff-thuh)—Fencing instructor. Mark is an awesome array of shields, and crossing swords and spears, but it's amethyst purple, not sapphire blue.**

**Any new professors will be introduced after the chapter they appear in. Thank you for paying attention.**

**Rebirth**

**4. Sunrise, Sunset**

I stared at the two adults in confusion. I mean, I just woke up from dreaming of Nyx, and here they are staring at me with their mouths open. Could it have something to do with Miko and Shannon? Surely not; my Goddess said they were fine. So…

"What's wrong?" I asked. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Amy, something very…unusual has occurred." Eliante said. "Are you feeling well?"

"I'm fine. And Shannon and Amiko will be too. Nyx told me so." I answered. "Now what is the problem?"

"I'd hoped you could tell us." Althea breathed. "Oh my stars and garters…" (1)

"What?" I asked. "Is there something the matter with my face? Did my Mark change? Oh hell, did I complete the change in my sleep?"

"No, child." Eliante said. "Nothing like that. But, your Mark is changed. Why don't you look for yourself?"

She held out a compact mirror and I took it. Contrary to urban myth, Vampyres do have reflections. How else would we know we look so inhumanly stunning? Anyway, I opened the mirror, and gasped.

My crescent moon outline was still there. Still the same shape in the same place. But I definitely remember it being blue when I last checked myself. Not this bright emerald green color now stamped on my forehead. Well, at least it brings out my eyes…

"We are all quite fortunate that our Goddess saw fit to allow me a glimpse of your new Change." The Priestess said. "Many other vampyres would have panicked and tried to kill you and your friends."

"My friends…" I repeated. "Wait. Do they have emerald marks too?"

"See for yourself." Althea sighed, stepping aside so I could see the cots that Shanda and Miko lay on. Yep. Both of them had the same bright green outlines that I now possessed. But why?

_You are a new breed of vampyre._

"Eliante, does this have anything to do with our being attacked by those beasts?" I asked, replaying Nyx's words in my head.

_One part woman, the other part wolf._

"Amy, I believe it has everything to do with it." She said. "I feel that our Goddess has chosen you three for a special purpose. One that is clouded from even my sight."

_Daughter of Night and the Full Harvest Moon._

"Will I have to leave the House of Night?" I asked.

"Absolutely not!" Althea exclaimed. "Not a one of you have completed the Change yet! Until you do, none of you will leave. Besides, we do not yet know what this special Mark means."

I nodded. Hey, she had a valid point: I had no idea just what I was now or what I could do. Same for Shannon and Miko.

"But we're still outcasts." I said. "As if we weren't unpopular enough before. How are we supposed to deal with this? You've both seen the way people treat Angel and Isis and their funky purple tattoos are kind of normal. Sure, there aren't a lot of them, but it has been known to happen! We're just some kind of freaks."

"I doubt Nyx sees you as 'freaks'." Eliante said. "I will keep this news restricted to the staff until Miss Lake and Miss Honada are well enough to leave the infirmary, however. Just to ensure their safety."

I felt like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. "Thank you, Eliante. Oh, and please tell Cornelius not to worry about me."

"I will, dear one." She smiled warmly before walking out of the infirmary.

This is how a conversation between a HoN student and his/her priestess should go. No nagging feelings of doubt. No stomach-tightening reaction to the thought of even speaking a half-truth in her presence. Unfortunately, all of the "not's" mentioned were experienced by me in my interview with Neferet. I can't say if my parents felt the same intuition I did, but I knew from the moment I saw her that I could never trust her. Not in a million years. There's not a set reason for my distrust, but I know better than to dismiss it and tell her my life's story. Something about that woman is…evil.

But I digress.

By the time Cornelius came down with my breakfast (a muffin, a bowl of Fruity Pebbles cereal, and a glass of orange juice.), Miko began to stir. She opened her eyes slowly and stared up at the ceiling.

"Where am I?" She asked.

"The medical wing." I answered. She turned slowly to look at me and rubbed her eyes. She didn't seem to notice my mark, but then again, she's never been much of a morning (or in this case evening) person.

"Amy?" She moaned. "What are you doing here?"

"Don't you remember?" I asked. "Those furry monsters pretty much mauled you and Shanda-bear over there." I said through a mouthful of cereal, pointing my spoon at Shannon. "How're you feelin'?"

"I just had the strangest dream…" She yawned.

"Let me guess, Nyx was standing in a forest with a wolf and told you that you're a new kind of vampyre?" I asked. She stared up at me.

"Well, it was a cat, not a wolf." My purple-haired friend sighed. "You know, those kinda small ones with no tails, big feet, and those tufts on their ears?"

"A Lynx?" I suggested. She nodded.

"Yeah, that sounds right. She told me I was like 'one with the cat' or something." At that moment, her eyes bugged out and her jaw hit the floor. "Oh my Goddess, Amy! Your mark!"

"yeah, I know." I said. "Your mark looks the same. So does Shannon's." She looked over at Shannon and gasped.

"No way."

"Way."

"Does anyone know?"

"Eliante and the adults. No one else."

"And she's okay with it?"

"Nyx gave her a vision."

"I see. So, what now?"

Good question. I've been trying to wrap my head around this for about thirty minutes and still can't decide what all of this means.

"I have no idea." I sighed. "Once Shannon wakes up, we'll talk about it together and ask Nyx. Until then, ring for Althea and she'll send someone to get you some leftovers from breakfast."

"Sounds good to me." She smiled. She hit the call button for our nurse, and Althea bustled in and checked her over before sending out for Miko's mentor to bring her something to eat. As this occurred, I wondered just what the hell all of this meant and what it had to do with the strange goings on in Tulsa.

**1. a nod to X-Men's Beast. That was his catchphrase.**


	5. Past and Present Problems

**Rebirth**

**5. Past and Present Problems**

While I waited for Shannon to wake up and Miko to finish eating, I thought back on all that lead to this point: notably, my choosing Chicago over Tulsa.

In theory, the Tulsa campus should have been ideal. I was extremely young for a fledgling and hadn't been away from home for very long before. Oklahoma's a lot closer to Texas than Illinois. But my parents both went to Chicago and Uncle Remus said I should at least talk to the priestess there before making a decision. This lead to two life-changing interviews.

My parents and I talked with Eliante first. Naturally, they adored her because she was their priestess. I liked her a lot too, because she was so caring and motherly. I felt comfortable talking to her about anything, including my fears and secrets.

Then, there was Neferet.

After such a wonderful chat with Eliante, I thought all High Priestesses would be as open and understanding as she was. Wrong. From the minute Neferet sauntered into our living room, I knew something wasn't right. Once the interview started, I knew I might be in trouble. Sure, she acted nice and caring, but it all felt so _forced_. And when she asked if I had any questions, I felt this knot tighten in my gut. I wasn't supposed to tell her anything. I also felt the urge to look her in the eyes and smile politely, which I didn't like at all but did anyway. By the end of our brief interview, I was left feeling cold, and she seemed upset about something. Not that I cared. I was going to Chicago—a land far away from her and her games.

"Nnngg." My mind shifted back to the present when I heard someone groaning. Miko had set her bowl down and was now by Shannon's side. Crap.

"Shannon!" I exclaimed, racing over to her bed. "Hey, are you awake?"

"Wha?" she blinked, turning her head to the side. "Where am I? Why are you two here?"

"You're in the infirmary." Miko said. "We were all attacked, remember?"

"Yeah." She said, then noticed our foreheads and yelled "Oh my goddess! What happened to you two?"

"Same thing that happened to you, Shanda." Miko said. "We're changing. But not like Adults go through the change. It's different."

"B-b-but y-your green!!!" She stuttered.

"So are you, if you'd care to look, now pipe down before you draw the whole school down here." I hissed.

"No!" She said. "This can't happen! I can't be some freak."

"We're not freaks. We're just special." Miko said. "Like the kids that ride the short bus!"

"Not helping." I glared. "Look, Shan, Nyx showed up in your dream, didn't she?"

"Y-yes. But…"

"And she told you that you were a new kind of vampyre. Daughter of Night and Harvest Moon, right?"

She nodded her head.

"And she kissed you, right?" Miko asked. Shannon nodded again. "Then there's nothing to worry about. She's watching over you like she is us."

"But I don't want to be special!" Shannon groaned. "I just want to be normal!"

"Well too tough, 'cause our Goddess says otherwise." Miko said. "I know you have this whole parent-pleasing issue, but you gotta accept that we're different now. The three of us."

"Nyx isn't going to let you fall, Shannon." I said. "Or any of the rest of us. She has something planned for us. Something big that only we can do."

"How do we know it's big?" She blinked.

"Would she give us green Marks if it weren't?" Miko asked. "Just relax. What will be will be."

"You've been reading manga recently, haven't you?" I asked.

"So what if I have?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing. Just don't run around quoting it to everyone. They'll think we've really dove off the deep end." She feigned hurt feelings while I turned to Shannon again. "Just don't be afraid of it. We're specially chosen by our Goddess to do something amazing. Something never done before. But we can only do as she asks if we believe with all our hearts that this change we're going through is a good thing. You got it?"

Shanda and Meeks looked at me strangely. "Somehow, I get the feeling Carrigan will no longer serve as head of the Dark Daughters." My purple pigtailed friend stated. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah. And who's gonna vote me in?"

"The adults!" She chirped. "I'm sure they will."

"Let's wait and see just what we are first, Miko." I chided. "After we figure out just what the hell we can do, I'll consider trying to take over the Dark Daughters."

"Crap. That reminds me, how will we break the news to Angel and Isis?" Shanda gasped. Miko and I looked at each other and blinked.

"I never thought of that." Miko said. "Should we ask Eliante to tell them, or…."

"No." I sighed. "We should tell them, not our teachers. It'll be less complicated that way."

Both of my friends nodded and looked at me expectantly. I groaned. "What? They're already in class now! I think this discussion can wait until after school lets out."

"What about the adults?" Shannon asked. "Do they really know what's going on with us?"

"Of course they do." My little Asian-American buddy grinned. "Eliante met Amy when she woke up. And Althea and Cornelius and Professor Connor (A/N: Miko's Mentor) have all been down here to look at us anyway."

"Not like you can hide anything from a High Priestess who sees the future anyway." I shrugged. "Don't worry, Shanda. It'll work out the way it's supposed to." I really meant that sentence with all my heart. Still, I wish I had a clue as to what we were supposed to be working out in the first place.


	6. Discovering

**Rebirth**

**6. Discovering**

Breaking the news to Isis and Angel wasn't nearly as tough as I thought it would be. Then again, they knew we couldn't help it. All of this just kinda happened. Leave it to them to remain cool under pressure.

The real test came the next day when I was allowed to return to class. When I approached my Sociology class, the fledglings parted like the Red Sea to avoid touching me. I heard them whispering (sometimes not whispering, but outright gossip) as I walked into the classroom. Everyone tried to get as far away from me as was possible. Our professor noticed this as she walked into the room and immediately called the noisy class to order.

"Everyone, settle down now!" Professor Harmon exclaimed. No one wanted to argue, so they shut up. Though some of them were still trying to sit two-a-desk to avoid coming near me. I groaned and rolled my eyes as Professor Harmon began. "Now, I know you are all afraid to get to close to Miss MacKiernan. You think whatever changed her might be contagious. Let me assure you that it is not. She has won the approval of our Goddess Nyx and our High Priestess Eliante, though we do not know why she was chosen. Her new mark is a sign of favor from Nyx, so I expect you to treat her with respect. Understood?"

A chorus of "yes, Professor"s rang through the air. I smiled to myself and said a silent prayer to Nyx for staving off a crisis.

I said many prayers of that kind during the course of the day. The same incident repeated itself in every class I took. By lunch, I wanted to crawl in a corner or hole and die.

That night, the moon rose high above campus in its almost full state. Most of the evening, I'd felt the urge to eat lots of meat (not much of which is served in the Dining Hall) and run around campus for the fun of it. Which is odd, because sports really aren't my thing and I usually don't like to eat meat, especially beef. It all culminated in outright overwhelming as I entered the dining hall and smelled the food of the day—sushi and egg noodles with other oriental veggies. I loaded my plate down with raw fish and very little greenery and began to scarf it down like there was no tomorrow.

"Amy, are you okay?" Isis asked. I looked at her.

"I'm fine." I said. "I just felt like sushi tonight."

"You're tearing into it like an animal." Angel observed. "I wonder what this has to do with the fight?"

I stared at her with slight confusion before realizing something. This probably did have something to do with my new change. I just had no clue what that might be.

"I think you're onto something." I replied as an alluring smell hit my nostrils. The sweet, spicy odor of fresh blood. But since no one was coughing, I deduced that someone accidentally cut themselves with a butter knife. Or their own claw-like fingernails. Seriously, it happens.

At the same time my brain worked out the reason for the blood, my body began to shake. I seriously couldn't control my own muscles anymore. I heard my friends' worried voices, but couldn't give them a response. Instead, I tried to stand up and remove myself from the situation. I barely made it away from the table before my entire body seemed to explode, and I was crouched on the floor. And colorblind. What the crap?

Wait a minute. I wasn't crouched on my knees; I actually stood erect on four legs. Four pale legs.

Holy crap, did I just turn into a dog?

Screams sounded around me. Gee, whatever could have caused that? All I did was change into some kind of dog. I tried to tell them it was me, but all that could be heard was a whining bark. Diego caught on; my friends were a little slower.

"Amy?" Angel asked timidly. I nodded my doggie head and whined. "Do you know us?"

Duh. Why wouldn't I?

"Why don't you use your telepathy, Angel?" Isis asked. Angel looked shocked, like she hadn't considered the notion before. In all the excitement, she probably hadn't. Anyway, she concentrated on me and I soon heard her faint voice in my head.

"Can you hear me?" She asked.

"Yes." I replied menatlly. "Took you long enough to figure it all out."

"Sorry." She groaned. "But seriously, you're making everyone nervous. Can't you change back or something?"

"I don't know." I answered. "I'll have to wait until I get out of here to try it. Just take me outside. Please?"

She nodded and grabbed the scruff of my neck. Goddess, this feels so weird.

We made it outside with little uproar. No one was in the courtyard, which meant that I could practice without hurting anyone. Coolness.

The snow on the ground felt strange under my paws. Strange, yet completely _right._ Like I was meant to travel through the snow like this. _I wonder…_

"Amy!" Isis and Angel screeched as snow whirled around them. I made the closest sound to "sorry" I could manage, and disconnected my control over the white stuff.

"Well, at least we know it's really you now." Isis said in her exotic voice. "Now, change back."

Easier said than done. I tried everything from "Change back" to "Abra Kadabra" to "Open Sesame", all with no response. I sighed and looked up at my friends sadly.

"I don't think she can, Ice." Angel said. "Oh, Nyx, what do we do?" She asked the sky. I was expecting a soft whisper or maybe a sudden enlightenment. I certainly didn't think Nyx would show up in front of us. But she did.

"I have heard you, child." She said sweetly to Angel. "Do not fret. Amy is still Amy, aren't you, dear?" She asked me. I whimpered a 'yes' in response.

"But how can she change back?" Isis asked. Nyx smiled warmly.

"It will take time, but she will accomplish it." The Goddess replied. "Amy, dear, try to come back to us."

I wanted to. I wanted to be my normal nearly-changed self more than anything else at the moment. But I still couldn't change.

_You are asking the wrong questions._ Nyx's voice echoed in my head. Gee, if that was the wrong question, what was the right one?

What caused me to change in the first place?

The smells. No, wait, **the** smell. The blood of that fledgling. That's what started this mess. And if the blood started it, maybe blood could finish it?

Without thinking, I ran to the kitchen, scaring the chefs in the process. They weren't expecting two dogs to come barreling through after the stampede. I made my way to the refrigerator that held the blood used for Nyx's offerings and the adults' meals. Unfortunately, I couldn't open it. I wasn't adept enough at my new form to maneuver the door handle. Lucky for me, Angel ran in, Isis hot on her tail.

"You want something in there?" she asked. I nodded. "Okay. Hang on." She opened the door and gasped at the fridge full of blood bags. I seized the opportunity and snatched a bag, ripping its contents open and lapping them up off the floor.

"Eww. That's gross." Angel made a face. I looked up at her, licking the blood from my furry lips. It was sweet and spicy. Complete perfection. And it calmed a thirst I didn't know I had.

"You're not exactly a clean eater." I said.

Holy crap, I spoke! Does that mean…

"Amy! You're back!" Angel launched her petite frame at me and wrapped me in a bear hug. I laughed lightly.

"I never left." I said. "I think this whole thing is triggered by bloodlust. Sort of."

"This time." Isis frowned. "Next time, you might take out the whole flock of fledglings before satisfying your thirst for blood!"

"I didn't this time." I said. "I doubt I'll do it at all. Unlike those things that attacked us, I can keep my head on straight."

"Because you're a sixth former and almost completely changed." Isis said. "What about Miko and Shannon?"

Oh shoot. "We have to get to the medical wing. Fast." I said, grabbing a bag of blood and running out of the kitchen. If my instincts were right, we could be in big trouble.


	7. A Bear of a Tale

**Rebirth**

**7. A bear of a tale**

Angel, Isis, Diego and I rushed down to the infirmary as fast as we could run (which was very fast for me and Diego, and not so fast for my first and second-former friends) in hopes of stopping Shannon and Amiko from transforming into animals and inadvertently hurting someone. The entire time, my mind raced with all that had just happened to me. I mean, Nyx herself had just appeared before me. In plain sight. Guess I must be really special for her to devote so much time into making sure I'm okay. Maybe after I get the other two settled down, I can finish what I started working on with Angel: Controlling that darn telekinesis of hers. Seriously, her telepathy works great. Her affinity alternation, however, is still wild. She works really hard to restrain it all the time and it's taking a toll. She doesn't need to spend so much time bottling it up when she should be spending her energy on her siblings and school.

But that is entirely beside the point. Let's get back on track, shall we?

Anyway, we reached the infirmary, only to hear several animalistic roars (one feline, one not) and shouts of terror. Sure enough, we entered to see a large brown bear and a tanned lynx advancing poor Althea. In her hands was a syringe partially filled with blood.

"Drat. She already triggered it." I hissed, racing in. "Miko! Shannon! Stop!"

The lynx turned its head to meet me. The bear looked for a moment, then focused once more on the syringe. "Shannon, there's not enough blood in that for both of you!"

"What do you mean?" Althea asked as I fought to keep control of my own instincts.

"The transformation is triggered by bloodlust." I said. "They need to drink blood to change back."

"Quite a lot of it." Isis added. "Amy lapped up about half a pint."

"Oh my goodness." Althea breathed.

"We need to send someone after blood." I said. "Angel, contact one of the professors with a free period and have them bring us a whole pint of blood. Now."

She nodded and placed her hands to her temples, closing her eyes in the process. After a moment, she opened her eyes and dropped her hands. "Professor Jephthah is on his way here now."

"Jephthah?" I blinked. Oh no. Not him. Anyone but the new cool British guy. I don't want to scar him for life with my weirdness.

_Trust him._ A soft voice in my head stated. Well, if Nyx says he's cool, I guess he must be.

Miko seemed to realize that she shouldn't be attacking her teacher. As well she should: she's a fifth former and ought to know that by now. Shanda, on the other hand, grabbed a pouch full of something (I'm guessing healing herbs) with her mouth and began swinging it about.

"Shannon!" Isis declared. "Stop that."

The bear grunted, dropped the bag, and shoved a cot our way.

"I don't think she's interested in your opinion." Angel muttered.

"Maybe she's just confused." I said. "Hang on. I'm going to try to reason with her."

"How do you plan to do that?" Isis asked.

"Speaking her language." I said. "I'm going to turn back into the wolf."

I heard them protesting out loud, not that it mattered anymore. My objective was turning back into the wolf. I let the instincts I'd been fighting for so long overtake me once more and dropped to my knees, turning into the pale wolf once more.

Once I was shifted into the wolf, I took everything in. Every sight, every sound, and every scent. Especially the scent of the bear who was now tearing apart the infirmary.

_Shannon._ I said in my head, taking a position between her and our friends. _Shannon, calm down. It's going to be okay, but not If you keep ripping stuff up._

_I can't stop it._ Her voice echoed in my head. Wow. Creepy. I was hoping to just use body language, but this works too.

_Yes, you can._ I told her. _I did. Just don't fight it. Let your mind and the bear's merge into one._ As I said this, I realized that that was the reason behind my quick return to sanity. Wolves are naturally hierarchal and incredibly social. Bears and wild cats are not. The wolf knew that people didn't taste too good and that people screaming sounded bad. Really, it does sound terrible, like thousands of fingers on a chalkboard.

_No. I can't. I'll hurt someone._ She said franticly.

_Trust her, Shanda-bear._ Miko said in our heads as her little lynx body padded over to us. _She's right. You're fighting it too much. Besides, I'm sure that Jephthah guy will be here any minute with the blood and we'll be back to our old selves in no time._

_Blood?_ Her voice rose. _No. No. I… I won't! I won't drink blood._

_It's not like it came from anyone we know._ I told her. _It's the stuff they keep in bags in the staff refrigerator. It's safe and really tasty, I swear. _

_See? Donated blood._ Miko said. _Your local Blood-bank at work._

_Even you have to admit it smells good._ I stared at her.

_Okay, yes, it smells divine, but that doesn't mean I'll drink it._ Shannon said.

"Who ordered the Blood-wine?" I heard an English-accented voice call out. Immediately, Jephthah found himself pounced upon by Miko and Shannon. I stayed back. I'd already had my fill of blood for the day and wanted to change back to myself.

"Oh my stars and garters!" Althea breathed as my color vision returned. Hey, it was a lot easier that time.

"You did it!" Isis blinked. "You changed back without blood."

"I don't need any more blood. I've met my quota for today." I said. "I just needed to talk Shannon down and test out a theory. Whaddya know? It works."

"You sure know how to give an old nurse a heart attack!" Althea scolded. "I thought you were going mad too."

"She hasn't been mad all day." Angel said. "Just furry."

"Lucky." Miko—now unchanged—muttered. "So this is what the funky green marks are all about."

"It's scary." Shannon whimpered. "I could have seriously hurt you!"

"Look, just do what I told you and we won't have a problem." I told my curly-headed friend. "You get these stigmas in your brain and then you can't function right because of them."

"You need to get rid of them." Jephthah said, pulling himself to his feet. "And I'll be more than willing to help you."

"Why would anyone help freaks like us?" Shannon muttered.

"Because Nyx told them so." He replied. "Now do what you're told to and don't freak, okay?"

She made some grumbling noises before storming out of the infirmary. Althea wasn't very happy with it, but after we assured the poor lady that we'd consult Eliante about it, she let her go and even discharged Miko. Not that it helps a whole lot, but I'm sure after a good day's sleep, everyone will face this issue objectively.

Why did that just sound so ominous?


	8. Angel's First Lessons

**Rebirth**

**8. Angel's first lessons**

A week after our initial scaring-the-crap-out-of-each-other-by-turning-into-freaky-animals thing, life had calmed down. The transformations are actually fairly easy to control, whether it be the actual transformation itself, or choosing your course of action as an animal. Still, the students don't want to go within a five-foot radius of us and they constantly whisper about us during class. It's gotten quite annoying, but then again this school has quite a reputation as the gossip center of the American House of Night schools. The students like to talk. A lot.

Anyhow, once Shannon, Amiko, and I got our transformations in check, I set out on a new project: taming Angel's telekinesis. Jephthah volunteered his help, and Isis said she'd go through the process with Ange so she wouldn't feel so singled-out. So now our new fencing instructor and I have to teach these two how to use their affinity alternations. Can't be that hard, can it?

Why do I get the sudden feeling of impending failure?

"There they are." Jephthah said. The two of us had been waiting out by the archery field for a good five minutes with nothing to talk about.

"Here we are." Isis replied. "Now, what are we doing today?"

"And why are we by the archery field?" Angel asked. I looked expectantly to our teacher for an answer, cause quite frankly I've got no f'n clue what we're doing out here.

"Target practice." He smiled. Oh, his smile… such a shame he's a teacher. He's one of the only male vampyres that's remotely close to my age that doesn't think of me as a "freak-lover". Wait, he's talking again. "I want to see how much control you have over your affinity and what we need to improve on with it."

"Right." I nodded. "So, who's on first?"

"I'll go." Isis volunteered. Good ol' Isis. If she hadn't grown up in the wrong country, she'd have made an excellent Girl Scout. She's always prepared and ready to volunteer.

She walked up to the line where the Archery students stand and closed her eyes. A warm pinkish-colored aura surrounded her as she stuck her right hand out towards the target. The energy around her shot off like a rocket and punched a hole through her target. Jephthah watched with a grin plastered to his face.

"You've had practice." He stated. She nodded.

"Yes. My mentor aided me in controlling my affinities." For those of you who don't know, Isis's mentor is Professor Lilea, who teaches the advanced spells and incantations class. Professor Lilea's affinity is to read the auras of others and channel her own aura into physical energy. As you can see, it's really similar to Isis's empathy, which is why she was able to help her so much.

Unfortunately for Angel, telekinesis is kinda rare and none of our staff have an affinity even remotely close to it.

"I guess it's my turn." Ange sighed, stepping up to her spot like a prisoner walking to the gallows. She tried to mimic Isis's moves and yelled out "Target!" But instead of hitting her target, she knocked Isis's back about ten feet. She groaned as Jephthah walked over to her.

"You're too tense." He said. "You've got to learn to relax a little."

"And go find yourself some confidence too." I said. "That was half-hearted at best, and you know it. Try it again." Maybe that comment was a teeny bit snappish. I don't care. We've tried babying her and that's gotten us no-where. Apparently she'll need a lot more tough love than I did.

Angel squinted at the target and made an arm motion that greatly resembled throwing a baseball. This time, it actually hit her target, but only moved it backward. She doesn't have the heart to do any real damage yet.

Still, it was a good shot from her.

"Better." Jephthah stated, then looked over at me. I raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to let them do all the work?"

"It's their lesson." I reminded him. "What, do you want me to attack the target?" he grinned. Uh oh.

"Have at it, wolf-girl." He smiled. I glared at him, but stalked up to the next target. What? He is still a professor.

Apparently no-one had informed him of my affinity. Or if they had, he didn't remember. Whichever the case was, he sure looked astounded when the snow that covered the ground began rising up and swirling around me. I didn't need to move my hands to make this work: I could do it all in my head. I narrowed my eyes and the blizzard around me suddenly shot straight at the target, each flake of snow turning into a small missile before smashing into the wooden circle. While the target remained upright, it was no-longer intact: it now resembled a salt-shaker lid.

"Is that good enough, Professor?" I smiled sweetly. Yeah, I know he doesn't like being called "professor", but I don't like being referred to as "wolf-girl" so we're even now.

"Quite." He breathed, still staring at the target.

"Are you going to show-off for us now, Jephthah?" Isis asked. He shook his head.

"Not today." He said. "But, Angel, that is exactly what we're going to train you to do. Right after we go buy Coach March some new archery targets."

"You mean that's all for today?" Angel blinked.

"As I said before, today was a test to see where you are." He answered. "The real work begins tomorrow. Good day, girls."

"Good day, professor." Isis bowed.

"Yeah. Thanks." Angel said before walking off with Isis. They needed to check on the little ones, which left me alone with a professor.

"Guess I'd better get going too." I said. "I'll see you in class tomorrow, Jephthah."

"I will look forward to it." He smiled. "Take care."

"I will." I nodded, before turning around and walking back toward the school.


	9. Revealing

**Rebirth**

**9. Revealing**

Two days after Angel started her training, not much had changed. Aside from the news from Tulsa that one of the Dark Daughters' leader's council members had died. Odd, since this Fledgling had been given an affinity for an element as had the rest of the council members. There have been other mysterious deaths at that school… not to mention disappearances associated with it. Coincidence? I think not.

I'd be willing to bet money that Neferet is behind it all. I can sense it, but I can't prove it.

Back here in Chicago, Angel is improving at the speed of a glacier. Her lack of confidence is still holding her back, but we're hoping to change that.

Or, we were hoping to. You know, before all the howling and growling started.

Our little affinities club had been practicing in the gym, where we usually have Fencing or Kickboxing classes. We couldn't use the Archery field, since they had a competition coming up and the team needed to practice. So, yeah, we were all trying to coax Angel into lifting a chair off the ground when this awful ruckus started outside. Howling, growling, and yeowling rang all through the air, causing Diego to jump up from where he had been laying down and start growling. I felt the urge to do the same.

"Guys, I think we need to cut our practice short." I said.

"But we can't leave." Angel protested. "I can sense at least 20 animals out there. We'll be mauled!"

"Not if we fight." I said. I glanced over to Shannon, Amiko, and Angel's two younger siblings. They'd come to watch our practice match from the bleachers. "Shannon, you and Angel will stay here with the kids in case someone gets hurt. Isis, Miko, you two are going with me to fight a way out."

"Why Miko?" Jephthah asked. "I understand that she turns into a lynx, but one small cat won't stand a chance out there."

"I can if I use my affinity." Miko smirked. "I create distractions."

"Seriously, she thinks about one, and it happens." Shannon said. "For all the good it did us in our last fight."

"But this time we have help from the Adults, who are now out there risking their lives to drive those beasts away from the school." I said. "Now let's go."

And so Isis, Miko, Jephthah and I ran out into the werewolf-filled night in hopes of aiding the others. Turns out, they needed it.

By the time we got out there, Miko and I had already shifted into our animal forms. We did this partly to do more damage to our attackers and partly to test out a theory we'd had about our thought-speak. If we could communicate with each other that way, could we also hear the thoughts of those other beasts? At the very least, it was worth a try.

And it worked… sort of. Those things were more animal than person, so we didn't get a lot of useful info from them. We did learn that someone else was controlling the massive pack, but none of them seemed to have a clear image of who that someone was. Just that it was a female.

Learning that that theory worked, but was utterly useless, we continued to fight us using our affinities, while also keeping an eye on those who came out with us.

That's when we finally got to see Jephthah's affinity in action.

I was trying to bit and drag one of the creatures down when a beam of energy sailed past me. I glanced up to see Jephthah aiming his sword in the same direction. Then, the sword began to glow, and an energy beam shot straight from it and went in my direction. I ducked down, and the beam took out not only the thing I'd been fighting, but also one that had tried to charge me while I was distracted.

I guess that's what he meant by a weapon's affinity. Sort of. At any rate, we kept fighting alongside our professors and other staff members until the animals were backed against the outer walls. By this point, only about 10 were left. The rest lay lifeless all over the campus. Once we knew we had the advantage, it was over for all but one, the biggest wolf-man. I shifted back into a semi-human state to get a better look at him (sufficiently creeping out a few of the adults in the process).

As I said, he was massive, easily reaching about seven feet tall, and encroaching on eight. He looked to be about 300 pounds of pure muscle and brown-black fur. I realized immediately why he was the one spared: he was the lead wolf. Their alpha male. Not the one controlling the pack, but the one telling the others to carry out orders. Since I could still hear his thoughts, I could also tell that he was the most intelligent of the group.

_Bad move._ I "said" to him. _You came onto our turf and started a fight. _

_I didn't know a Vampyre could be turned. _He replied. _But you already know what you need to._

_No. You haven't told me who __**your **__alpha is._ I heard Miko ask. _Who is she?_

_How many of you are there? _I asked. _How did she create so many of you under everyone's noses?_

_You'll never know. _He taunted. And he was right. Just as I was about to question him, an arrow pierced his chest, and he slumped down against the wall.

Shifting into my Vampyre form again, I began to interrogate the teachers. "What was that about? You did exactly what he wanted you to do! Now we'll never know who he's working for!"

"Child, his future was a blank." Eliante said. "If we hadn't killed him, he would have killed himself to keep us from prying. Trust me. I have seen all the paths his demise would have taken."

"I only needed two seconds!" I shouted. "You couldn't even give me two seconds to get an image. A face. A name to go along with this mystery female that's causing all our problems!"

"Amy, please be reasonable." Cornelius said.

But I was far past that. "No. You should have asked me if I was done first."

"She's right." Jephthah said. "Amy and Amiko are the only ones here who could speak to those beasts. You should have consulted them before charging ahead."

"You already know, don't you?" I asked my priestess. "You at least have an idea of who's sending these creatures after us."

"Amy…" she started.

"No! No more excuses! I want answers!" And suddenly, I had them. A whole mental flood of them. Eliante was trying to hide something. Not in the way that the bad guys in comic books keep evil plots hidden, but in the way a parent tries to shield a deep dark family secret from her child. She was trying to keep us from running off and starting a war. She was protecting us. Protecting us from a rogue Vampyre.

Oh. My. Goddess.

She turned away from my shocked gaze, her eyes filled with sadness. I'd caught her and she knew it. "My only purpose is to protect my students." She said softly. "All of my students."

"From what?" Miko asked. "What's going on here?"

"We will discuss this first thing in the evening." Our priestess looked to the lightening sky. "Dawn is fast approaching, and you girls need to rest. All will be explained before class starts. I promise."

I wanted to scream some more, but couldn't. I was too emotional to speak. Then I felt a wave of warming calm wash over me. Looks like Isis had had enough of my outbursts and decided to do something about it. But I didn't have the heart to be mad at her. Heck, I couldn't really be mad at Eliante right now because all she wanted to do was keep us safe. Sure, she lied to do it, but I guess she felt she had to.

And poor Isis… She was as confused as Miko and most of the others standing around. They had absolutely no idea what I'd just realized and were all scared about what was going on around them. Would there be another attack? Why would a Vampyre want to do something like this? Will we all have to leave the school?

They needed a leader. All of these fledglings need someone to depend on right now. Someone they can trust. Someone who can and will protect them.

They need me. Someone actually needs me. A whole bunch of someones.

That's when I felt my entire body start burning.


	10. Beginning Anew

**Rebirth**

**10. Beginning Anew**

I doubled over on the spot, clutching my head in agony. My entire body cramped and tingled, and my head threatened to explode.

Is this what it feels like to die?

No. Wait. This isn't how fledgling die. Fledglings drown in their own blood and cough quite a bit of it up. This isn't like that at all. Which begs the question: What is it?

Somewhere in my peripheral awareness, I realized that the adults had gathered around me. I felt a pair of strong arms lifting me off the ground as the pain finally began to subside.

"It's not usually that hard…"

"Maybe it's because of the bite…"

"What do we do now?"

Many, many questions and concerns were being voiced as I was carried off. At some point, we entered the school. I don't really remember when. I was more concerned with the monstrous headache/sore throat I now had to contend with.

By the time I opened my eyes, we were in the infirmary. Geez, haven't I spent enough time here as it is?

"Oh dear." Althea breathed. "Someone go to the kitchen and get something for her to eat. And I do mean eat, not drink."

Someone left the room at that point. I didn't really care who it was. I just knew something was going on that they weren't sure of.

"Set her down on the bed." Althea ordered. The man holding me set me down on the cot she'd pointed at. I didn't realize until I was on the makeshift bed that Jephthah had been the one who carried me down here.

"What's going on?" I rasped. My throat felt like it had been scorched and was still burning. Add to that the fact that every muscle in my body ached, and you have a feeling of general unwell-ness. Which is pretty much what I'm feeling now.

"Just rest, Child." Althea said softly. "Let it happen."

Let what happen? The Change? Well, the Change would explain my sudden throat problems, but not the other stuff. Not the aching body and throbbing head. Had something gone wrong when I started to Change? Hundreds of questions started to swim through my head, making my headache even worse.

_Relax, dear one._ I heard the soft, motherly voice of my Goddess whisper to me. _You have nothing to fear. I won't let you fall. _Yeah… I still don't quite understand all of this.

_What's happening to me?_ I asked. _I don't think the Change is supposed to hurt like this._

_I told you, Child, you are a new breed. _Nyx replied. I could hear the smile in her voice. _I am truly sorry that you must go through this, but it is the only way. _

_I'm scared. _I squeezed my eyes shut, allowing a tear to trickle down the side of my face.

_Do not fear, young one. I am with you, and you will be fine._ And with that, her presence left me. It served to calm my nerves down quite a bit, but I wasn't sure it had helped my physical pain that much.

But at least the headache wasn't any worse.

I heard the doors open with a whoosh, and turned my head to see what was going on. Cornelius and Jephthah were standing over me, while Mrs. March had returned with a plate full of leftovers from dinner. Tonight it was grilled garlic-herb chicken, veggie medley, and some kind of grape and cream-cheese salad.

Of course by this point, I could have eaten just about anything they offered me. I was famished.

"Drink this first." I heard Althea say as she handed Cornelius a plastic cup with a straw in it. The smell of blood mixed with spiced wine nearly sent me into a frenzy. If I hadn't still felt so sore, I probably would have swiped the cup from my mentor. But instead, I pressed my lips over the straw and began to gulp down the delicious burgundy stuff like a camel slurps up water. I only stopped when there was no longer anything in the cup.

"Good." Althea smiled. "Now eat your dinner."

I'm entirely certain that the faculty bore expressions of shock and disgust as I began tearing into the chicken. I don't' even recall using a fork to eat it with. One minute it was on my plate, the next minute it was gone. The veggies I do remember eating, but only because I had to use a fork to stab the corn kernels. In seconds, the grape salad had mysteriously (okay, not so mysteriously) vanished. I looked up from my meal into the gaze of five pairs of eyes.

"Sorry for my lack of etiquette." I apologized, embarrassment washing over me. "I didn't know how hungry I was."

"Quite all-right, dear." Eliante smiled warmly. "It's not uncommon for newly-changed Vampyres to experience an increase in appetite."

"Is it uncommon for every muscle in your body to ache?" I asked before I could stop myself. The adults all looked at me strangely.

"Yes." Althea said. "But then again, there's never been a shape-changing Vampyre. At least, not to my knowledge."

"Wait. So my whole animal thing is what's making me sore?" I asked. The nurse sighed.

"So far as I can tell, It's your body's way of adapting to the change that's just occurred inside you."

So my wolf-form is messing with the change into my adult self? Lovely.

Hold it. What does my adult-self look like?

"Do any of you have a mirror?" I asked. Normally, I'd have just used my compact, but that was still in my purse. Which was upstairs in my room at the moment. Didn't really matter, though, because Eliante let me use her mirror.

"Oh wow." I breathed. I don't really know what I'd been expecting, but this wasn't it. My tattoo consisted of a bunch of snowflakes strung together, and it wrapped around my cheeks and jawbones before taking over my shoulders and chest area. Oh, yeah. I forgot to mention that it was all a bright emerald green. "There's so many snowflakes…" my voice trailed off. A normal Vampyre tattoo isn't this elaborate. Most of them just get masks or half-masks.

"You are very blessed indeed, Amy." Cornelius said. I paused for a bit. Amy. Yeah, I know it's my given name, but it just didn't **fit. ** Not with the new tattoo and whatever kind of wolf-form upgrades I was getting because of the Change. Of course it made sense: new me, new name. But what did I want to be called?

My wolf-self whined pitifully in the back of my mind. I guess that means she had a suggestion. Suddenly, a name popped into my head. Her name. Our name.

"Is it too late to change my name?" I asked, looking at the teachers gathered around me.

"No." Eliante shook her head. "You may change it whenever you feel ready."

"Well, I am ready." I said. The wolf in my head howled in agreement. She was happy to be called by her name. "My last name stays the same, but the rest of it is going to be different now." Not Amelia Marie. Not that it wasn't pretty, but… "From now on, my name is Esarosa Eira MacKiernan."

For those who don't understand either of those names, the literal translation is "White wolf snow" , or "Snow-white Wolf" if you're going to get fancy with it. A perfect fit for what I am now.

The adults nodded and smiled in approval as I yawned. I forgot that I was so tired. Looks like I'm crashing here again. At least until the adults figure out where to put me.

"All-right, all of you out!" Althea ordered to the two males standing by my bedside. "She needs rest! Shoo!"

I laughed as both of them trotted out the door. No one wanted to face the wrath of Althea.

"Oh, Eliante?" I asked as she was walking out. She turned to me and smiled. "Yes, child. What is it?"

"Could you please let Shannon and the others know I'm not dead?" I winced as I said this. Poor Miko must be about four degrees of panicked right now.

"I will." She replied. "And yes, you will still be given the answers you seek tomorrow evening. But for now, you need to sleep. Blessed be, Esarosa." She saluted me. The high priestess just saluted me.

"Blessed be." I replied, saluting her in return. She smiled and left the room as Althea turned the lights down in the infirmary.

I was out like a light as soon as my head hit the pillow.


	11. Recounting

**Rebirth**

**11. Recounting**

The next evening, I awoke to find myself no longer alone in the infirmary. Cornelius and Jephthah stood over my bed. I also noted that there were some people standing outside the entrance doors.

"Good morning, love." Jephthah smiled.

"Good evening." I said. "We sleep through the morning. You should know that by now."

He chuckled as Cornelius spoke. "Eliantè wishes to speak to you after you have breakfast."

I nodded. At least she intended to keep her word. "Can you have somebody bring me a change of clothes, please?" I asked, looking down at my partially shredded and completely dirty clothes from last night. Yeah, not what you want to be wearing when meeting the High Priestess.

Cornelius smiled. "Your friends have already taken care of that. Well, come along, Jephthah. Let the girls catch up and change in peace."

I could have kissed my mentor on the cheek at that moment. He always seemed to be able to read my mind, or at least my emotions. At any rate, he and Jephthah walked out of the infirmary and allowed Miko, Shannon, and Isis into the room. I figured they must have skipped breakfast to come see me. Something Angel couldn't do, what with her siblings and all.

"Oh my goodness, your mark!" Miko gasped. "It's gorgeous!"

"Thanks." I muttered, moving the tray with my food on it closer to the bed. "Be warned, though. When were-vamps change, they get extreme cramping and headaches."

"Great." Shannon sighed. I stared at her.

"Now don't be such a pessimist, Shanda. It doesn't even last a full 24 hours. You'll get through it."

"So, what's up with the new name?" Isis asked, changing the subject. Leave it to her to pick a better conversation topic.

"It's not exactly 'new'." I answered. "It's the name that the wolf wants to be called. I bet both of you probably have animal names too, come to think of it." I thought aloud, looking at Miko and Shannon. They stared at me, then at each other.

"I never thought about that." Shannon said. "But the animal in us probably does have a name."

"I hope it's a pretty one like 'Rosa's." Miko chirped. Great, I haven't even had my new name a whole day, and she's already shortened it. Just like I seem to have shortened my eating time. The breakfast tray was now completely devoid of food.

"We'll leave this talk for another time." I said. "Right now, I have to shower, throw on some clean clothes, and visit Eliantè."

They all nodded. All of them knew that they wanted to know the answers as much as I did, and that we as a group needed to find out why our priestess was suddenly so secretive with us.

* * *

About 45 minutes later, the four of us found ourselves in Eliantè's office, along with Jephthah and a few other teachers. The seriousness of this meeting seemed to physically manifest itself in the atmosphere. Or was that just the fact that there were like 10 people crammed into an office that only seats half that? I don't know for sure. I just know that whatever she had to say to us was important.

"It is good to see you looking so refreshed, Esarosa." The priestess smiled at me. "Now, let us begin. Where do you wish to begin?"

Ah. Opening the floor to questions. Smart move. "What do you know about the Vampyre who's been creating these wolves?" I asked. I may as well get that one out of the way first. The sooner we do this, the sooner I get to figure out if I have to leave the House of Night or not.

Eliantè sighed, looking very drained all of a sudden. "I am not sure why she has chosen this path, but I do know that she does not work alone. She was once quite a talented woman, but now… She was once known as Desiree, but has changed it now to Hecate after the rogue priestess in your history books. She has created these creatures to distract us from something else. Something that one of the other school priestesses is doing."

"But what priestess would want to harm other students?" Isis asked. The answer came to me instantly.

"Tulsa." I blurted out. "Neferet must be trying to start a war."

"Then we have to stop her." Miko stated.

"How?" Shannon asked. "We don't have any solid proof. Just a lot of suspicion."

"And that alone is not enough to take Neferet out." Eliantè said. "No, dear ones, we have to wait and see how this plays out. Nyx is obviously moving among our people. All we have to do is trust her."

"Okay. So, what about these wolves?" Miko asked, changing the subject. "Is there any way to change them back into humans, sans killing?"

"I'm afraid we have no information on that front." Professor Lilea, who had been standing quietly by, put in. "This woman is using dark magiks to create these creatures, and without the exact spell, we cannot counter it."

My heart sank into my stomach. We were the lucky ones who could keep our humanity. Those poor beings were doomed to die because of some crazy spell this Hecate lady cast on them. And without her spell book, there was no hope.

The spell book. Now there was an idea.

"What if we could retrieve her book of spells?" I asked. "Couldn't we then reverse the change in those humans? I know that Nyx has personally gifted the three of us, and I don't return gifts of such high favor, but these others live under a curse. Shouldn't we try to rid them of it?"

"Not at the present time." Eliante stated. "I have placed a call through to Shekinah, who is sending some of the Sons of Erebus and a few of curse-removal specialists, but they won't arrive until later this week."

"The Sons of Erebus are coming here?" Shannon squeaked. Our priestess nodded.

"Yes. The High Priestess herself is coming as well. To get a first-hand look at your brand-new forms."

Well that sent my head spinning. Not only were the Sons of Erebus, the greatest male warriors in all our species' existence, going to arrive at our school, but the Priestess of all Vampyres was on her way to personally visit the three of us changelings. What a great honor.

"I guess the usual 'once you've changed, you're free to leave' policy doesn't affect me in this case." I said numbly. Eliante nodded.

"So it seems. Now, if there are no more questions, most of you have activities to attend to. There is much cleaning to be done to this place before Shekinah arrives."

Like we didn't already know that. Mercifully, no-one had any more questions for our priestess, and we were dismissed. But I had my own queries to pose to our favorite Fencing instructor. "So, was that stunt with the glowing sword last night your affinity or its alternation?" I asked, catching him in the hallway. He groaned. "You'd hoped I'd forgotten that, hadn't you?"

"Yes." He admitted. "And I suppose I do owe you an explanation."

"You suppose right." I said. "Now don't worry, none of it will leave our little circle of misfits, so go ahead. Explain away."

"Fine." He sighed. "In response to your question, that was the alternation. My actual affinity is the ability to know how to use a weapon from the moment I pick it up. I can also channel energy through the weapon and fire it. That's the alternation, as you call it."

"That's quite an affinity." I whistled. "Wait. Why haven't the Sons of Erebus contacted you? I thought they wanted every talented male they could find."

"I considered it, but after a talk with the leader of the European branch, I decided it wasn't for me. I don't want to fight for the rest of my life. But I like a challenge, so…"

"So, now you're teaching fledglings how to fight." I finished for him. "Okay. I can see that. Thank you for being so patient."

"You're one strange bird." He shook his head as I turned to leave.

"I get that a lot." I smiled. "See you at practice tonight. Don't be late."

"I won't be." He grinned. "Blessed be, Esarosa."

"Blessed be, Jephthah." I replied, before walking away. This week was certainly shaping up to be an eventful one.


	12. Arrival

**Rebirth**

**12. Arrival**

The "much cleaning" Eliante referred to involved every available fledgling cleaning out the guest bedrooms, dining hall, and restrooms after classes and before dinner. Some of the teachers and adults (like me) took care of the grounds, stables, stray cats, and kitchen. By the time that Shekinah's flight landed at O'Hare, the school was spotless.

You'd think that with the High Priestess of all vampyres paying us a visit that the Archery team would stop practicing. That wasn't the case. Coach March wanted his team in top shape, and that meant extra practices, which in turn meant that I had to make sure that Stark's dog had clean water and fresh food while he shot at paper targets. Duchess, Diego, and I were at the stables when a black limousine bearing the school crest pulled into the driveway. I glanced up and Professor Rivera called out for me.

"Esarosa, come quickly! The Priestess is here!" As if I hadn't guessed that from the ultra-fancy car sitting in our driveway. I kept my comments to myself, though, and followed Ms Rivera down to where the free faculty and our school priestess were gathered. Facing them were two enormous male vampyres and a breathtakingly stunning female.

Her long silky black hair piled on her head in an elegant upswept do that left some pieces flowing down her back like a waterfall. Her skin was a rich flawless mahogany brown with glistening sapphire tattoos in the exact same pattern that was embroidered on all of the teachers' school outfits. She dressed in a black cloak with a hood that wasn't up, and a black and purple dress that seemed to float on the wind as it blew around us. The other adults were all in their dressy clothes: the ones reserved for rituals. Except for Ms. Rivera and I. We were in barn clothes, complete with overalls and mud boots. Needless to say, I felt completely underdressed.

Using my upgraded hearing, I heard Eliante say "Oh, here's one of them now!" as the two of us approached the huddle. The Sons of Erebus took one look at me and dropped into a battle-ready stance. Shekinah gazed in awe at my markings as I froze, not wanting to get into a tangle with two fully-grown, experienced male vampires.

"Ate, Zeno, stand down." Shekinah ordered in a calm voice. It sounded as cultured and exotic as she looked. "She is not our enemy here."

Thank the goddess she figured it out. I was worried there for a second.

"Shekinah, may I present our Equestrian Studies instructor, Professor Rivera, and Miss Esarosa MacKiernan, the new adult I informed you of." Eliante stated, pointing to me and Ms Rivera in turn. I suddenly felt very, very small. Like second-grader small.

"She is indeed unusual." Shekinah mused. She was thinking something over. I could tell from the expression on her face. Not an evil plot or anything. Just… something. "Well, why don't we move indoors. I'm sure Professor Rivera and Miss MacKiernan would like to make themselves a bit more presentable before our meeting." I nodded in complete agreement. I don't personally mind the smell of horse poo, but someone else might be a tad offended if I walked in to an important meeting reeking of the stuff.

* * *

Twenty minutes and a quick shower later, I stood inside an unused classroom with Eliante, Shekinah, Cornelius, and the two Sons of Erebus who almost attacked me earlier. To prove just how special I was, I wore an off-the-shoulder white, gray, and black patterned top, which showed off the emerald snowflakes falling down my neck and over my shoulders.

"Esarosa, would you please explain to me how you came to have these stunning tattoos?" Shekinah asked. There was no instinct to hide anything, so I just dove right in.

"it started back when these three were-creatures climbed over the walls and attacked myself, in addition to my friends Shannon and Amiko. We tried to fight. We screamed. But by the time help arrived, Shannon and Miko were fairly torn up, and I had a nasty bite mark and a bunch of tiny scratches. That night, as we all slept in the infirmary, we all had very similar dreams. The Goddess, Nyx, appeared to each of us. In all our visions, she had an animal by her side, but there was a specific animal for each of us. I'm a wolf, Shannon's a bear, and Miko's a lynx. Anyway, Nyx told the three of us that we were to be a new breed of vampire, part woman and part animal. She kissed us, and then we woke up. Oh, and she also said something about a battle which I'm guessing has to do with the crazy lady calling herself Hecate."

Shekinah took it all in stride. Not once did she interrupt my tale. Instead she sat quietly and listened. When I'd finished, she turned to Eliante. "Is this true?"

"It is." Eliante nodded. "Nyx appeared to me as well that night, informing me to take great care in dealing with those three Fledglings. I walked down to the infirmary to make sure that everything was well with them, and noticed their Marks."

"I see." Shekinah replied sagely. "Esarosa, is it true that you can commune with these beasts."

Oh boy. "Sort of. I can hear them and they can hear me, but there's not much going on in their heads besides, attack, destroy, and do as the mistress commands." I answered. "I can also communicate with the other two girls, but I haven't tested out if it works with wild animals or not."

"There will be no need for that at the present time." The High Priestess held a hand up. "It is easy to see that Nyx has seen fit to claim you as a special Vampyre. If you live through this, you will make a fine priestess one day. But right now, your help is needed in stopping Hecate from carrying out her plans."

"And to do that, we need to snatch the spell book." I said when she paused to breathe. "I know that. But how will we get close enough to do that?"

"Let us worry about that, child." Shekinah smiled. "You are dismissed. Blessed be."

"Blessed be." I replied, saluting my Priestess as I walked toward the door.


	13. The Heart of the Matter

**Rebirth**

**13. The Heart of the Matter**

After a bit of trial and error, I managed to mold my merry band of misfits into a functioning council. That took about a week, and at the end of that week, I got a nasty shock.

Stark was moving.

This mess started back in July, during the Summer Games (aka, Vampyre Olympics). Our Archery Coach at the time, William Chidsey, had made it to the final round, along with Stark. It turned out to be Coach Chidsey's final contest: During the practice round, Stark's arrow curved around and hit him in the heart, killing him instantly.

Now, Chidsey was Stark's mentor, and the boy took the whole thing really hard. He moped around for like a month before I finally told him to snap out of it or I'd freeze his fingers so bad he'd never shoot again (I didn't intend to, really). The threat seemed to get the job done, but he refused to compete after that. Practiced day and night, but never competed. Why did he practice? Simple. To test his affinity.

It didn't take long for Stark (or the rest of us in the loop) to realize that he could hit anything he visualized in his head, absently or intentionally. Seriously, I snuck out to watch him practice in the park a month or so back and watched him kill an owl that was the "heart" or "center" of the tree his target was stuck to. Let me tell you, it wasn't pretty. Poor thing screeched all the way down to the ground, and did nothing to help Stark's shaky belief in himself or the Goddess's wisdom.

And now, he's changing schools and going to…

"Tulsa? Are you insane? That's like the middle of nowhere! Do they even have an archery team?" I asked as he packed up his personal equipment. He sighed.

"It doesn't matter. I'm not competing."

"Running away isn't going to help, and it's certainly not what William would have wanted."

He glared darkly. "I'm not running."

"Really? Then what do you call suddenly changing schools?"

"A fresh start."

"Bullshit! I don't believe it and I know you don't either!"

"The students treat me different now."

"Uh, hello? You're talking to the official Queen of Misfit Land. If anyone knows about different here, It's me! None of the teachers are mad at you, James."

"But they didn't fight to keep me." He frowned.

"Because you won't fight for yourself anymore! Look at you! When did you become such an effin' doormat?"

"I am NOT a doormat!"

"Prove it! Tell them you'll stay. We need you here, Stark. We need you to help us stop Hecate. Please, just stay until we stop her."

He let loose a ragged sigh. "Fine. But as soon as she's dead, I'm gone."

"Fine." I said, turning away from him and leaving the archery house.

TWO WEEKS LATER…

After lots (and I do mean lots) of mystical scribing and asking Nyx for Directions, We (as in the adults) finally found Hecate's hiding place. Turns out she'd holed up in some abandoned house a few blocks from the school. Which is where Shekinah, the Sons of Erebus, The majority of our staff, Stark, Shannon, Miko, and myself were waiting this night.

"There are at least a dozen were-creatures." I said, using my newly enhanced sense of smell to detect the other beings down-wind of me. "All of them waiting for us. She's warned them."

Shekinah nodded. "Let us not disappoint her. Esarosa, would you lead the way?"

Gee, I feel so special. "No problem, Priestess." I said, shifting into my wolf form and loping down the hill, Shannon and Amiko hot on my tail.

As soon as the creatures sensed us, they all rushed out of the house. They were met with fangs, claws, and the occasional flying arrow to the heart or head. They were dead in a matter of maybe two minutes.

_Someone's in there with her, and I don't mean another wolf. _I thought to my companions.

_She has a posse of males protecting her." _Miko thought back. _I'll go warn the others. _

_You do that._ I "said", trotting around to the back door. _I'm going in to investigate._

_Please tell me I don't have to go too._ Shanda begged. I rolled my blue eyes.

_No, you hang back in case I get stabbed or something. _I told her, disappearing from her line of sight.

The back door was unlocked. Apparently Hecate's male protectors didn't lock up when the beasts ran out. That meant either they were careless or cocky, one of the two. I hoped for careless.

I was wrong. Three large males greeted me. One of them tried to grab my neck, and I bit his hand. Then one of the other ones whacked the side of my head.

"Bad doggie." He said, looking down at me. "You musta failed obedience school as a pup."

"I don't think the bitch-mutt ever went to obedience school." Another laughed. "Mistress, we got a visitor!"

Hecate stepped into the doorway, her long blood-red and black dress falling carelessly off her pale shoulders. Her hair was an odd shade of bluish-black, and was falling freely in pin-straight layers over her shoulders and back. Her Mark was in the form of a mask made of pentagrams and runes that framed her most dramatic feature: her bright scarlet eyes. Eyes of pure evil. I growled.

"My, my, what have we here." She smirked, looking over me in a sinister fashion…almost like she wanted to eat me. Ew. "A student wandering away from her school. All to seek out the person responsible for turning her into a beast abhorred by the priestess of her worthless goddess!"

I growled and barked. Loudly. One of her consorts slapped me again. "Be quiet, bitch." He glared.

"Now, now, Dmitri, we want the girl intact if she's to be of use to us." Hecate admonished. I didn't care how much use I was so long as I could get my jaw back into its rightful place. I growled at her. "Child, you can't even begin to understand the plans I have for you. You see, I once followed the ways of Nyx as you did. But then I learned that it was a lie. That she was the devil, not the angel of the night everyone thought she was. Our Master of Darkness will rise again and conquer all of those who follow that pretending demon!"

I felt a wave of anger like nothing I'd ever known. When I agreed to go in first, I thought I might talk her into walking outside to be captured. I didn't count on her being a traitor to Nyx. She's following a path that the Goddess hasn't blessed, and is leading others astray. I shifted back into my Vampyre form, taking her by surprise. Apparently she hadn't expected to see an Adult come from the wolf. "First of all, I'm no longer a student." I told her and her bodyguards. "And second, I'm blessed, not abhorred." Thousands of tiny ice daggers struck at her protectors as I got to my feet. They cowered down on the ground as a whirlwind of razor-sharp ice crystals contained each of the male vampyres. "Now, who fed you these lies!"

"Tsi Sgili will save the faithful upon his return!" Hecate cried out. I felt even more lost than before.

"That's not an answer! Who is this Tsi Sgili?"

"Our Master's consort." She smiled blissfully. "Yes, she will protect us from his purge."

"But she won't protect you." I said. She blinked a moment before….

Spliiit! An arrow landed smack dab in the middle of her heart. Her red eyes glazed over, and she fell to the floor dead (hopefully). I flashed a grateful smile at Stark, who I knew had been the one to fire the shot. The arrow had his scent on it.

"It seems Nyx has judged her unredeemable." Shekinah said as she entered from the front, surveying the destruction while the Sons of Erebus contained Hecate's hired help. "Well done, Esarosa."

"Don't thank me yet." I said, looking at her and Eliante. "Our fight has just begun."

"What does she mean?" Ate asked.

"Hecate mentioned a Master, someone wanting to destroy Nyx." I said. "She also said something about his consort. Someone called Tsi Sgili?"

"Sounds foreign." Miko put in. Eliante paled.

"Shekinah, I believe now would be an opportune time to check on the Tulsa House of Night. To ensure that those students are not experiencing our problems."

Shekinah nodded. Apparently she'd been waiting for that statement. "Yes, I believe I shall. I will accompany Mr. Stark when he transfers tomorrow."

I glared at Stark, who glared right back. Damn coward.

"Will you contact us if you find out anything?" Shannon asked in an almost fearful tone. "I mean, we know how to deal with these beasts, and can keep the students there from freaking out."

"Why don't we wait and let the High Priestess deal with it." I stated, looking the ancient woman in the eyes. "If she needs our help, I'm sure she will ask for it."

She nodded. "I shall. Well, why don't we go back to the school and rest? It has been an eventful night."

"A splendid idea." Eliante smiled. She was right. I needed to rest up before thoroughly chewing Stark out when he leaves tomorrow night.


	14. Leaving Town

**Author's note:**** Well, after a long and unplanned hiatus, I finally got around to posting the last chapter of this fic. A sequel is in the works, but it may be a while before I get to it. **

**Rebirth**

**14. Leaving Town**

We thought that once we saw Stark and Shekinah off to the airport that our job would be over. Man, were we wrong. They hadn't even been gone a day when Eliante called us into her office. Unfortunately, we knew what she was going to tell us, and it wasn't going to be good.

"Shekinah is in grave danger." She said with a mournful sigh. "Neferet is going to kill her on the night of the Full Moon ritual."

"Why then?" Isis asked. "Why on that night in particular?"

"She needs the blood of one of the prefect council to be spilt so she can resurrect a sleeping demon." Eliante stated. "This must be stopped, but I fear that sending a formal team of investigators would only speed up Neferet's plans."

"Then how do you plan to stop her?" Shannon asked. I was wondering about that myself. How does one go about stopping a powerful rogue priestess?

"A small team will arrive in Tulsa under cover of daylight." The elder vampire stated. "This team will guard the High Priestess from the shadows, unknown to Neferet or whatever minions she may have. Should something go wrong, they will be charged with alerting us and getting as many students as they can to safety."

"Great idea." Jephthah stated. "But who's going?"

Eliante smirked. "Why, Jephthah, I'm sending you and Esarosa."

I'm fairly sure my eyebrows achieved orbit and my jaw dug a hole to China. "Me?" I pointed at my own chest. "You're sending me to stop a rogue priestess? With all due respect, have you lost your mind?" I hadn't even been an Adult for a week yet. I'd be lucky to get an instructor position somewhere. Warriorship…that was out of the question for someone like me.

"Not at all." She shook her head. "You and your circle will be the main surveillance team." Her brown eyes met mine. "Esarosa, I know this is a lot to ask of you, but can't you see it, child? Do you think that it was mere chance that you ladies came together? No. Nyx does not deal in blind chance. If you turn down this offer, help will arrive from another source, for Nyx looks after her children. But who knows that you have come to us for such a time as this?"

"But we're not warriors!" Angel protested. "I—I thought only male vampyres could be warriors!"

"Not true." Isis shook her head. "There have been many clans of female warrior vampyres over the years. But still, why us? Most of us won't last long without an adult coven with us."

"Well, there's Esarosa and myself going. That makes two." Jephthah thought out loud. "Any other adults we know we can spare?"

"Miko, what about Matt and Brett?" I asked. "Matt's a sixth former, so he's almost an adult, and Brett's not far behind. Would they be good with tagging along for this?"

"I can ask and see." She shrugged. "Other than them, I don't know who we can spare."

"They will suffice." Our priestess assured us. "Now I suggest you all pack your bags. You will leave as soon as you finish."

* * *

"Is this everyone?" Shannon asked, looking around our little group. She had her essentials packed away in a suitcase and a backpack with her huge gray and white tomcat Merlin resting contentedly in his cat carrier. Angel stood to her right, what little she owned crammed into a large duffle bag, and no cat. Next to her, Isis had her suitcase standing next to her, her Abyssinian named Bastet happily purring in her arms. Miko, Matt, and Brett had just walked up, bags ready and cats in their own carriers. Kyo (Miko's orange tabby) and Sabrina (the Siamese-esque stray Brett owned) looked none too happy to be confined, while Callie (Matt's shorthair calico), just seemed happy to be going somewhere.

"I think that's everyone but Jephthah." Isis observed. "Wonder what's holding him up?"

"Sorry it took so long. One of my cats kept hiding under the bed." I looked over to see our missing member walking up, compensating for his light travelling bag with a rather large cat carrier. Inside were a near identical pair of small grey and white tabby cats. The only difference to the casual observer (like us) being that one had gold eyes, while the other had these gorgeous blueish-green ones.

"They're so cute!" Angel gushed. The girl loves cats, but sadly hasn't found her bonded kitty yet. "What are their names?"

"Jerry and Teaser." He said quickly. "Can we get going now?"

"No, wait a minute." I held a hand up. "You named them after characters from _Cats_?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" He asked, his face turning a little pink around the cheeks.

"You like musicals!" I laughed. "Our big, manly fencing instructor likes musicals with talking cats!"

"Laugh it up, dog-breath." He snipped. "Can we go now?"

"I suppose we'd better." Miko said. "It's gonna be a long train ride to Tulsa."

"How are we gonna pass the time?" Brett asked.

"Charades?" Angel offered.

"We'll see." I said, picking up my carry-on bag with my free-hand while using the other to keep a hold of Diego's leash. "Let's get to the train station first though, okay? We don't wanna miss our ride."


End file.
